Mikhael Strand
"And what did she mean by 'The Detestable Exile', anyway?" ~ Mikhael, referring to the words of Mataria Mikhael Strand is an exile lord of the Union,a former member of the Brotherhood of the Nameless and currently an ally to lord Ilyan Iskaar. A brooding, gloomy man with a heavy temper, Mikhael binds himself to the Union code of chivalry, yet often drinks. He is somewhat petty and holds intense grudges. Appearance Mikhael is a gaunt man of average height and wiry but not slender build. His face is long, gaunt and sharp with a slightly upturned nose, harsh cheekbones and deep-set large blue eyes. His hair is a raven black and is usually kept in a tidy bowlcut,and his beard closely trimmed. He is fond of fine clothing and carries around a few changes of them varying from more rugged traveller's clothes made of mostly linen and wool to a formal set with a fur-lined cloak and some embellishment. Unless the situation calls for the opposite harshly Mikhael will wear a blade on his hip. In battle he wears an open-faced helmet with a tall blue plume and a surcoat with the sigil of his house - the spear Hrithspel planted down into a beach with the sea at its back at least when wearing mail. Later during the events of the story he manages to acquire a grey-white set of universal plate armor which he traded in his mail coat for. Personality and Traits Mikhael was a serious and stern man whose personality was colored by his bitterness to a great degree. While not malicious or cruel he often came off as cold. He often drank and went into self-pitying or vitriolic rants about the current state of the Union and the injustices his house had suffered. He was very resentful of elves,blaming them for the undoing of his house and often came at odds with Lithiel of Yandae. Ironically he was also quite well versed in Elven courtship. He sought the restoration of his house and was willing to perform some amoral acts to reach that goal yet usually later regretted doing those things. Being the heir of an old and proud house made Mikhael comport himself with a certain sense of superiority regardless of his real position,seeing commoners and upstarts as owing him respect, yet upon receiving it he was genial ,kindly and compassionate. This disposition of his earned him few friends and many enemies. He was generous when he could afford it and tried to nurture his companions and assist them with issues presented before him, feeling it his duty to do so. He was a very curious and studious man, enjoying learning new things and often pondering abstract ideas and positioning his own theories on arcane matters. Even while very cynical and pessimistic, expecting things to go the worst way they could ,he still retained a childlike sense of wonder for the terrible and awe-inspiring sights his quest imposed on him. He was paranoid and suspected most people around him of being part in intricate conspiracies and the more he was exposed to an actual overreaching conspiracy in the form of the Children of the Dawn Cult's activities the more insane his theories grew. He often annoyed his companions with his constant gloominess and bluntness yet wasn't completely humorless ,making caustic remarks and spilling dry wit in dire predicaments. He was rather inept and awkward in social situations, especially around warrior-women like Teena Iskaar and Edith ,which he was unsure of how to treat. Mikhael was reserved and somewhat bad at expressing or coming to terms with his feelings, often denying them, excusing them, hiding them or letting them slip at bad moments. He misliked dishonesty, dissent and hypocrisy in all forms and employed deceit carefully when it was necessary. His sense of honor and loyalty was incredibly strong and it was him who initally created the Blood Oath for the Brotherhood ,as he firmly believed in the power of words laid down. Mikhael was steadfast and deliberate in the face of danger, often rushing in to save his downed companions. Powers and Abilities Mikhael was a resillient and agile fighter using his quick wit, varying weapons,his magical abilities and sheer strength of will to great effect. He often used the surrouding terrain or the enemy's own foolishness or impulses against them, yet was not unwilling to suffer harm to allow himself a tactical advantage ,almost never losing his cool in the midst of battle and keeping a tactical mind. Martial Training Years of warring and training had made Mikhael's body wiry and resillient. While not extraordinary he was in good fighting shape. He usually fought with a saber in the right and a rapier in the left, preferring to sacrifice his shield for more openings to strike. He was also an experienced rider and preferred to attack from horseback with a spear and a kite shield in the manner of chivalry he was trained in. Unfortunately his horses often died forcing him to fight on foot. Also equipped with a crossbow he often utilized it when he considered close-range engagements to be futile. Magical Ability In the marshes of Greenflow on his 30th birthday Mikhael's magical potential truly awoke. With the help of his formal training received earlier in his life he mastered a limited group of mostly offensive elemental magics,allowing him to launch ice shards, beams of burning energy and lightinging from his hands, focusing his power of will to rip apart beings and structures that stood in his way, as well as empowering his blows by wreathing his blade in green fire. While powerful his spells took a harsh toll on Mikhael's concentration and endurance so he only used them when there was a clear advantage in doing so. Education Mikhael had spent most of his life learning the histories of the civilized peoples,the mysteries of magic and the lore of animals and did so with lively interest. As so Mikhael was often able to provide crucial information about the places and things the Brotherhood encountered, such as outlining the plan to steal the artifacts back at Rekfork and bringing up useful information about the cursed city of Strifort Gart. He spoke Elven and Dwarven and was versed in the courtly manners of those cultures. Ruin Ruin was a cursed blade first faced in the hands of the Doppler Assassin Dartonis at Rivetwixt, then lost, found by a cat-merchant and stolen back by Mikhael. It looked to be of elven make, glew a soft red and was of unnatural sharpness, durability and balance. Mikhael replaced his saber with it, and used it when the Brotherhood made their way across the Rotlands and Runelands and when confronting lord Iskaar. He bequeathed it on Opinor Corydon as he saw the weapon as ill-fated, having named it Ruin for his first death at its' tip. Mataria's Artifact Upon falling in battle against the Dopple Assassins at Rivertwixt the artifact was drawn to him, when Senecius dribbled the goddess' cursed blood upon his lips and lodged itself in his chest bringing the knight back to life. It was seemingly incompatible with his personality and thus couldn't provide much in the way of power, merely keeping him alive. It also proved to be able to preserve Mikhael when he was dragged into the Plane Inbetwixt by the Approachers, where his squire Hammer was being consumed by the plane's curse. History Early life Mikhael was born the only male offspring of the great lord of the Union-Essaiah Strand of Loneport,with his mother dying shortly after delivering him, due to postnatal complications. As so Mikhael spent most of his early childhood alone. At some point he was fostered at Hillgrove with the friend of his father Kennyth Ashwood and became his eldest son- Godward's squire. Some time during this he returned to Loneport and at the age of 11 attempted to elapse his home, only to be convinced by an elven wanderer who called herself "Gladys" to return to his home. Later on he befriended most of the Ashwood household, including the reclusive Johnnyn Kart - the last child of a house destroyed and defiefed by the Empire which had been adopted into lord Ashwood's court. He recalls having dragged his severely wounded master through miles of hostile forest to rescue him as a squire and being part in raids on orcish villages and defenses against orcish raids. Upon receiving his knighthood he volunteered to be sent to Magistris to study magic, but dropped out two years later due to both his father calling him away and poor magical affinity. Droplets War Having been called away from his studies his father wanted to use him to create an alliance between the elven house of Morrell and the house of Strand to better get a grasp on the series of islands called the Droplets that lay in disputed sea coming into the zone of influence of both the Green Pearls, the Blutts of Bloodgate and the Strands of Loneport. With a marriage to the second eldest daughter of the house- Nethwyn to the young Mikhael his father sought to unite two of the parties interested in the territory against the third. Mikhael being fond of foreign lands and well-studied in elven and dwarven culture and history was quick to jump on the offer, seeing it as both his duty and his calling to marry and being glad that such a bride had been chosen for him. However upon arriving in Loneport Nethwyn found the entire affair unsatisfactory. Mikhael was unable to win her over, as he expected both him and his bride to do their duty for the greater good. Nethwyn finding his attitude both repulsive and pathetic rejected his advances ,effectively cancelling the alliance. Essaiah took this in stride and sought another way to claim the Droplets, but suffered a severe hunting accident when he ran his horse into a gorge, the fall killing him nigh-instantly. Filled with the burning wrath of youth and with the resources of the house of Strand now fully in his hands Mikhael decided to avenge his father and bring his will and ambition to life. Using every penny in his coffers and more he borrowed, he assembled a great host of mercenaries, well-trained and standardly equipped levies and retainers ,sailed on the Droplets, took them, placed his cousin Ghebriel as steward and lord of the isles and advanced on Bloodgate. There he besieged the castle ready to storm it. Unfortunately the news of Nethwyn's new marriage reached his ears-she had wed the powers of Morrell and Blutt together through her union with the dashing ,bold and strapping Sanguor-the scion of the house. Having taken the Droplets the elven army encircled the Strand host and in grievous battle Mikhael and his closest retainers-his cousins Marc and Jekob Strand ,as well as his knights stormed the city of Bloodgate. Surrounded they fought bravely but saw themselves almost completely wiped out,with Mikhael captured and dragged around in a vast cage for two months, where at least according to him he had been fed partially on his own excrement. His cousins did not share the same fate all dying either by being deposed and executed during the retaking of the Droplets or killed in the Battle of Bloodgate. Downfall and mercenary years After finally being ransomed and returning to his Loneport Mikhael faced crippling debt. Even after selling all his lands, the ancestral spear Hrithspel and even his fief of Loneport he still owed a million and a half golden pieces to the Bank of Magistris. Escaping to Hillgrove he joined the mercenary company known as the Keen Lances led in part by his longtime friend Johnnyn Kart and posing as Eimille Kart-a younger brother of his, deemed lost. Thusly he spent five years, growing to hate elvenkind and the very system that had pushed him into his dire predicament in the first place, and beginning to heavily drink when he had the time and spare gold. One day he was sent as an envoy to Dustwood to broker the hiring of the Lances by the younger heir of the Gale house in a dispute for inheritance. During his return when staying at the tavern at a small village, and drinking heavily he ran across a high elven traveller. After perceiving the elf to be looking down on him Mikhael flew into a rage and attacked him. The much stronger knight drove the elf out onto the street and after savagely beating him he drowned him in the nearby brook in an approximation of the traditional Loneport method of execution. He was captured,sentenced to death and shipped away to Plainne, to await his trading to the Empire as an arena slave, seeming to share his fate with a young elven girl and a suspicious wanderer as well as recidivist orc, thus accidentally setting himself on the path that would define the rest of his life.Category:Characters